The Spirit Thief

First thing I did after listening to this book was look for the sequel. I admit I'm not a fantasy connoisseur, as this genre is for me a bit of a guilty pleasure. But this story was quite amazing in my view. Eli is a wonderfully built character with a lot of humor, I loved Gin, the massive Ghost Hound, I loved Miranda... It all kept me gasping for air, not wanting to go to sleep and basically wishing those 8 something hours would not finish.

The narration is also very good, fluid and with a little role-play, just the way I like it. Kudos on the book!

I normally don't care for women written fantasies, but after getting hooked on the preview audio clip and the book being on sale, I decided to give this chance. She has written an unique magic system does not need grand details to work, simple but elegant. She develops the characters quickly and each are memorable. There are some good actions scenes, but with a PG13 feel. Some of the dialog and some scenes do feel forced or contrived, though. No cursing, no romance. The plot could have been a little stronger, but it works well. There is a little bit of politics, mystery, and intrigue thrown in for good measure. Good for people of all ages. I feel she is on par with Brandon Sanderson's early works, but a bit less gritty. Any flaws in this book are certainly out weighted by the characters and story. Narration is okay, but not great. He does some voices great and others so-so. His pitch and tone can be somewhat erratic. I highly recommend this book to fill the gaps between whatever other books you maybe waiting for. I will be getting the rest of the series. I hope Rachel Aaron continues to grow as a fantasy writer, she seems to get it.

This is the first book in a series and IMO, it is the weakest of the three. That said, this is a charming fantasy that introduces really entertaining and endearing characters and a really interesting system of magic. Because of that, and because I wouldn't want a first novel to turn people off of the series as a whole (which gets better and better with each book) I am still giving the story four stars for this review.

Basically everything is the world is imbued with a certain amount of 'spirit' or self-awareness and power. Most little spirits are asleep most of the time and owe a sort of allegiance to greater spirits who correspond to different elements such as Air/Winds, Earth/Mountains, Water/Rivers, Fire/Volcanoes, etc.

There are wizards who make deals to align with certain spirits to carry them around in rings on their fingers, making friendships and trading their protection for the ability to call on the spirits' powers when needed. These 'Spiritualists' also protect the spirit world and try to make sure that the spirits aren't being misused or taken advantage of.

Into this comes a Thief, Eli Monpress, who is determained to have the highest bounty ever taken placed on his head. He has a secret ability that helps him in his work that is explained during the book and is basically your charming rogue character- but he is REALLY charming and fun to listen to.

He travels with a swordsman who carries an 'awakened blade'- a self- aware sword that is unstoppable when it is in tune with its wielder. The swordsman, Johan, also has a mysterious young girl as a companion. She wears a huge magical coat and and manacles.

A young Spiritualist, Miranda Lyonette, who is talented and takes her work VERY seriously, is dispatched when the Spiritualist Court learns that Monpress has kidnapped the king of a country that doesn't even believe in magic. She rides off on her companion Ghosthound Gin (think sort of like the dragon in the Neverending Story- you totally want one, you know you do!) and they ride off to apprehend Monpress.


But things are much worse than either group bargains for and the Thief and the Spiritualist end up forming an uneasy alliance. One thing I particularly enjoyed is that the author stays away from any cliched romance and really is interested in developing each character as a person.

When you throw in things like an all-powerful demon trapped under a mountain, a mercurial Lady who seems to be the mystical protector of the world with an unhealthy interest in Eli Monpress, an eerie 'League of Storms' who have the job of hunting down smaller demon seeds which have escaped into the world, a bunch of panicked and mostly useless courtiers and a resourceful librarian- this story goes from action to farce to magic to combat and back very comfortably and I had a fun time following it.

I like heavy-duty real, gritty, violent fantasy very much. But after some George RR Martin or Joe Abercrombie, these books are really refreshing! Well written and the characters and world only get more interesting as the books go on. These are clever, and the combat scenes, while less gory than the authors I just mentioned, are well thought out and suspenseful. I've read all the books so far in the series and will be getting the others from Audible too. My 12 year old son is listening to this book now and also really enjoying it.

Sci Fantasy has always been my preferred genre. This series where two firsts for me, the Author Rachel Aaron and the narrator Luke Daniels. Rachel has spun a tale with refreshing excellence. Her characters??? are a perfect fit to a entertaining story line. The added dimension that audible books bring to the listener is always a risk. I have found poor narration can ruin a good read. The depth that Luke provides to the characters, transports this series to a new level, enhancing a well written book to pure audible pleasure.

This is a light, quick, easy read. Nothing too deep, yet nothing was missing. It's unusual to find a fantasy story that feels fully fleshed out in less than 30 hours of listening, but this one does!

There's a quirky thief and his entourage, a go-getter of a thief catcher and companion, a bounty hunter, and a royal family all tangled up in one big mess representing... two? Three? Four different sides? Wait, who's on which side? No romance at all, but magic, action, and mayhem.

The narrator did a great job juggling a bunch of very different characters. He was an excellent choice for this story!

What a discovery this new to me author is! The story is fresh, the characters are totally believable and charming! Rachel Aaron's voice reminds me a lot of David Eddings but definitely with her own style. A completely charming, exciting story. I'm starting the next book right away!

Unbelievably good. I'm so glad I found this series. There wasn't one thing about this story that I didn't like (and that's rare!). Luke Daniels is an amazing narrator. I bought the other two in the series as soon as I finished this one. Brilliant!

Entertaining, Enjoyable, Enticing

When just what makes Eli special was revealed.

Luke Daniel's is why I chose this audio book. He's an exceptional narrator who brings life and nuances to a story while keeping the listener entertained. His trained voice contains such frolic and levity that its a sure bet the author's story will be well received.

I really like the narrator, Luke Daniels so I gave this audio book a chance. I was pleasantly surprised by the story. The rebellious characters caught my attention and I become very interested in what happened next. I enjoyed the twists and turns in this story and became attached to the the thief and his motley crew.

The book is fun, short, and reads like a fairy tail. Those are all good things after listening to over 100 hours of Game of Thrones books. If you have ever seen anime like Slayers, or One Piece, I would compare the book to that. They are fun, fast, with many action scenes. Which can be a huge plus, IF that is what you are looking for. This book was so different than what I usually read, I did enjoy it.

The narrator's voice is perfect for the tile character. He is also good all around.